Seminar 27th May – Uranchimeg Ujeed

Mix and Match: Integration of Religious Practices Among Inner Mongols in Contemporary China

Abstract

Religious practices of present day Inner Mongols have a trend of integration of Buddhist, shamanic and popular religious elements as well as Mongolian and Chinese religious elements. Due to the lack of powerful religious institution like Buddhism in the past, people are free to mix and match any religious elements depending on their individual needs. Due to this, some interesting features are forming in each traditional religious form which is supposed to be unacceptable according to traditional norms.

This paper aims to investigate the formation of this phenomenon in its socio-political, economic and cultural context where Inner Mongols situate and the underlying cultural logic of this mix and match.